Sure, many people believe they can drink a potent iced coffee or down a 5-Hour Energy to get a boost throughout the work day, usually around three PM. But truth be told, that just results with a jittery caffeine-induced crash later, or an empty stomach.

There are several simple delicious snacks that can be thrown together from items that are regularly in the refrigerator. They can be prepared ahead of time in order to thwart cravings for that Quarter Pounder with cheese around the corner from McDonalds, or they can also be prepared within about ten minutes on the spot.

Snacks With Vegetables

Endive Leaves Stuffed with Skim Ricotta Cheese

Chop off the top of the endive leaves, about four inches.

Stuff a half tea-spoonful of skim ricotta cheese into the leaves, and eat like crackers.

Nuked Edamame

Heat up about a cup of edamame in the shells in a bowl in the microwave, on average for around 2 1/2 minutes.

Sprinkle with Kosher or sea salt.

Chopped Veggies with Hummus

Choose a selection of vegtables, such as chopped carrots, radishes, cucumber slices, celery, and cherry tomatoes.

Dip the vegetables into the hummus. This is much healthier than ranch and adds an interesting twist to vegetables.

Steamed Artichokes

Trim and halve an artichoke, then season with salt and pepper.

Place the artichoke cut-side down in a bowl, and cover in olive oil.

Throw in some herbs such as thyme, chives or parsley.

Squeeze the juice from some lemon wedges over the artichokes.

Microwave covered on high for ten minutes, then mix the lemon juice, the cooking liquid and mayonnaise for a dipping sauce.

Creamy Salad

Mix together a teaspoon of anchovy paste, a handful of chopped parsley and chives, and equal parts of low-fat mayonnaise and sour cream.

Chop up some Bibb lettuce.

Drizzle the sauce over the lettuce and top with salt and pepper.

Toss the salad to create a low-fat personalized Caesar salad.

Snacks with Dairy

Mozzarella and Tomato Skewers

Chop up cherry tomatoes and mozzarella in large chunks.

Push a piece of the mozzarella onto the skewer, pushing it down to the bottom. Then put a chunk of tomato onto the skewer, then a large basil leaf

Alternate this procedure until the skewer is full.

Sear in a skillet if desired.

Tomato Soup with Sour Cream and Chives

Heat the tomato soup on the stove top or in the microwave.

Add a dollop of fat-free sour cream in the middle of the soup, then sprinkle with chopped chives.

Frozen Yoplait Whips

Yoplait has a type of yogurt called “whips”, that are very fluffy, light yogurt. Purchase one in a wide variety of flavors, ranging from strawberry shortcake to chocolate mousse.

Cook up a couple tablespoons of diced red onion, three tablespoons butter, salt and pepper.

Brush this mixture onto the bread sticks, then sprinkle chopped herbs on top with parmesan cheese.

Cook in an oven at 400 degrees for ten minutes.

Other Afternoon Snacks

Trail Mix, Nuts and Seeds

Indulge on a handful of toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, spicy nuts, pistachios, raisins, and cashews, just to name a few choices.

Smoothies

Go for a low-fat smoothie or milkshake. The good things about this option is that liquid makes you feel full even though it was not full of calories and carbs. From cranberry pomegranate smoothies, to peanut butter vanilla milkshakes, the sky is the limit wiht different types of drinks.

These simple recipes take little time to prepare and will end up being more satisfying then junk or fast food. Experiment with different sauces, vegetables and fruit, mixing and matching unlikely combinations until new flavors are discovered out of these household ingredients.